I was wondering if you had any recommendations for a running shoe for all purposes: training, racing, track work, and easy runs. Is it necessary to have a different shoe for each or is it possible that shoe companies can make one shoe for every purpose?

Possible? Probably not. Likely? Uh-uh. Shoe companies would like nothing better than for every runner to own five or six different pairs of shoes at all times, whether they need them or not. That always increases the chance you’ll lose track of a pair or two, and feel compelled to buy even more.

I currently alternate between a lightweight trainer and a more supportive trainer for workouts, and then race in a racing flat. Any advice would be appreciated.

It sounds to me as though you’ve discovered the mix that works for you, and I thank you for answering your own question. But then, what works for you may not be the answer for everyone.

While most fitness runners can wear one shoe for all purposes (training, running races for fun, going for coffee afterward), high mileage runners do better with a couple of shoes for training and, if they’re age group competitive, as I suspect you are, maybe a flat for racing.

Wear a more substantial trainer for long, slow distance and a lightweight trainer for speedwork and tempo runs. When you go to the track you might warm up in the light trainer, then switch to your racing flats for the workout. Switch back again for the all-important cool-down.

For any runner who runs on consecutive days, at least two trainers are ideal. They can be the same model at different breakdown points in their life cycle, or they can be two different models with similar biomechanical support. The slightly different level of support in the shoes helps spread out the stress on those hard-working feet and legs.

"Willard," a runner with small feet who lives across the sea, tracked me down through runningtimes.com in search of the truth about men wearing women’s shoes.

It’s difficult to find men’s running shoes in sizes below size 7.

Difficult, Willard, but at least possible. Be glad you’re not the 14-year-old kid I fitted who wears size 18. And he’s still growing.

Several big sports stores have told me they don’t carry those sizes because small men can run in women’s shoes, that the only difference is color. I remain unconvinced.

Be convinced, Willard. While good running shoes for men are available in small sizes, most stores won’t stock them because the market is, ahem, also small. If a local store is not willing to special order, it’s okay to wear women’s shoes. Why not? There are plenty of women with big feet running around in men’s shoes. If the shoes fit, and you can live with the color, who cares?

Keep in mind that a women’s medium width is typically a narrow for men. If you wear a men’s medium, a women’s wide may fit better. Also, some brands build women’s shoes on a different last, ostensibly to provide a better fit for women. Don’t worry about that, however, because if the shoe fits your feet comfortably, it doesn’t matter if it’s on a "women’s last" or not.

"Mike," a lean gazelle who runs high school cross country, asked about the famous test involving feet, water and footprints.

Are you familiar with the wet test?

You mean the one where you stand on a sheet of paper with wet feet to make a footprint that will tell you if you have high arches, flat arches, or so-called "normal" arches? Yep, I know it well, and it’s bogus.

Is it a good way to determine pronation factor?

Note the word "bogus" above. The wet test is a great way to see what kind of footprint you leave when your feet are wet, and that’s it.

For example, some people with flat feet, who are supposed to be extreme over-pronators according to the wet test, actually under-pronate. I know because I’ve solved problems for a number of them by getting them out of motion-control shoes. Stable feet, regardless of their arch shape, don’t need stable shoes.

Also, while most high-arched rigid feet (the ones that leave a dry gap between the heel and the forefoot in the wet test) may not over-pronate, some do. I know because there’s a pair attached to my legs. The wet test is, in my opinion, all wet.

Thanks to our correspondents whose names were changed to guard their privacy, and whose words were tweaked a bit to guard our clarity. While I try to reply to all, some fall off the back of the email truck during busy times and don’t make the cut. If that was yours, try again and keep it short, keep it on task (running shoes), and don’t ask me where you can find a pair of the 1982 Nike Terra T/C.